Fly Fishing Rocky Mountain National Park

Today we are talking about my personal favorite place to fish, Rocky Mountain National Park. There are many accessible lakes and rivers roadside or deep within the back-country of this beautiful National Park.

One of my favorite fisheries in RMNP is the upper Fall River. Just above Horseshoe Park, the river meanders through a gorgeous meadow setting. There are healthy populations of browns, rainbows, brookies, and a few cutties in this river. If I had to choose my favorite stretch of this river to fish, it would be the section above Endo Valley Campground. Through this valley this free stone is small, but is mostly pooling and pocket type holding water. This summer I fished it with my cousin and caught 4 brookies, all over 9 inches. The biggest one was about 13 inches with a massive kype, caught on a size 14 Griffith’s Gnat.

One of my secret spots on the park in Fern Creek, just below the lake. Its a long, hard hike to get here, but once you struggle through many trees and see the river, you will think that there are not any fish in the river but you would be surprised. My favorite rig for this small stream is a size 14 Chernobyl Ant followed by a size 16 Elk Hair Caddis.

When fishing the lakes of RMNP, I only sight fish with attractors. Size 16 Crystal Stimulater, Humpies, and terrestrials. Sight fish them like any other fish you see. Since these fish receive little pressure, they are more than willing to take a fly. RMNP is a great fishery for 2 seasons, and is best in the late summer. Hope you guys go up there and catch some fish! Check back next week to learn about fly fishing in Wyoming. Tight lines, Tyler